Monday, October 22, 2012
No Reason to Boast
"God intentionally designed salvation so that no man can
boast of it. He didn't merely arrange it so that boasting
would be discouraged or kept to a minimum -- He planned
it so that boasting would be absolutely excluded. Election
does precisely that."
Mark Webb
**********
Salvation has nothing to do with the person or anything good in him, but totally
on God's sovereign love and grace for His people.
The Bible tells us, that from the beginning, God chose certain people for
salvation, not because they were smarter, better, more spiritual, or more faithful,
or enlightened, but according to His purpose and will.
This is the Christian doctrine of Election.
Theopedia defines election as:
"In eternity, God chose some individual persons
from the mass of fallen humanity unto salvation
without regard to any merit or foreseen faith in
them, but solely based on His sovereign intentions."
The people chosen or "elected" are called "the elect" (Matthew 24:22, 31;
Mark 13:20, 27; Romans 22:27; 1 Timothy 5:21; 2 Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; etc.).
Every believer is part of this body of people, God's chosen.
God chose every believer from eternity according to His pleasure and will,
not because of anything good in them.
"For He chose us (His people, not everyone) in Him
(Jesus) before the creation of the world to be holy
and blameless in His sight. In love he predestined us
to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in
accordance with His pleasure and will."
Ephesians 1:3-4
Since salvation is based on God's sovereign will, then those chosen have no
reason for boasting. Salvation, faith, and grace are all gifts from God.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith --
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not
by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:8-9
All the good works we do were planned by God from the beginning.
"For we are God's workmanship ("work of art),
created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which
God prepared in advance for us to do."
Ephesians 2:10
God's election is based on His purpose and not on anything good the elect do.
"Yet, before the twins were born or had done
anything good or bad -- in order that God's
purpose in election might stand: not by works
but by Him who calls -- she (Rebekah) was told,
'The older will serve the younger.' Just as it is
written: Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.' "
Romans 9:11-13
Salvation depends on God and not man.
"It (salvation) does not, therefore depend on man's
desire or effort, but on God's mercy.
... Therefore, God has mercy on whom He wants
to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to
harden."
Romans 9:16, 18
There is no reason for a person to boast about any virtue in himself that led
God to save him. God chose and saved him because of His own sovereign in-
tentions.
"But God chose the foolish things of the world to
shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the
world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly
things of the world and the despised things -- and
the things that are not -- to nullify the things that
are, so that no one may boast before Him.
"It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus,
who has become for us wisdom from God -- that
is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
Therefore, as it is written: 'Let him who boasts
boast in the Lord."
1 Corinthians 1:27-31
Saturday, October 20, 2012
1689 LBCF: Of God's Decree
Faithful Baptists from the seventeenth century proved that they believed the Bible's
declaration of the sovereignty of God over everything. He didn't just create the
world and sit back and watch His creation, stepping in only when things went wrong.
God is in control of whatever comes to pass, according to His glory and purpose.
1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith
Chapter 3: Of God's Decree
1. God hath decreed in himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel
of his own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to pass; yet so
as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein; nor is
violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second
causes taken away, but rather established; in which appears his wisdom in disposing all
things, and power and faithfulness in accomplishing his decree.
(Isaiah 46:10; Ephesians 1:11; Romans 9:15; Acts 4:27,28; John 19:11; Numbers 23:19)
2. Although God knoweth whatsoever may or can come to pass, upon all supposed
conditions, yet hath he not decreed anything, because he foresaw it as future, or as that
which would come to pass upon such conditions.
(Acts 15:18; Romans 9:11, 13, 16, 18)
3. By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are
predestinated, or foreordained to eternal life through Jesus Christ, to the praise of his
glorious grace; others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation, to the praise
of his glorious justice.
(1 Timothy 5:21; Matthew 25:34; Ephesians 1:5,6; Romans 9:22, 23; Jude 4)
4. These angels and men thus predestinated and foreordained, are particulary and un-
changeably designed, and their number so certain and definite, that it cannot be either
increased or diminished.
(2 Timothy 2:19; John 13:18)
5. Those of mankind that are predestinated to life, God, before the foundation of the
world was laid, according to his eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel
and good pleasure of his will, hath chosen in Christ unto everlasting glory, out of
his mere free grace and love, without any other thing in the creature as a condition or
cause moving him thereunto.
(Ephesians 1:4, 9, 11; Romans 8:30; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; Romans 9:13;
16; Ephesians 2:5, 12)
Sunday, October 14, 2012
God's Decree
"God's decree is His purpose or determination with
respect to all that shall come to pass. The divine
decree is singular. There is no series of decrees in
God, but simply one comprehensive plan, embracing
all that comes to pass."
James Montgomery Boice
**********
God decreed the creation of the world. He deserves the praise of
all of it.
"He set them in place for ever and ever;
He gave a decree that will never pass away."
Psalm 148:6
*****
God determined to make known the mystery of the gospel's being
made known to not only the Jews, but also Gentiles, according to His eternal
purpose.
"His intent was that now, through the church,
the manifold wisdom of God should be made
known to the rulers and authorities in the
heavenly realms, according to His eternal
purpose which He accomplished in Christ
Jesus our Lord."
Ephesians 3:11
*****
God determined to make known His will according to His good
pleasure, through Christ, at the proper time, to put all things under Christ.
"And He made known to us the mystery of His will
according to His good pleasure which He purposed
in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will
have reached their fulfillment -- to bring all things
in heaven and on earth together under one head,
even Christ."
Ephesians 1:9
*****
God chose his people for salvation according to His plan, in
conformity with the purpose of His will.
"In Him (Jesus) we were also chosen,
having been predestined according to
the plan of Him who works out every-
thing in conformity with the purpose
of His will."
Ephesians 1:11
*****
Those whom God foreknew He also predestined and called
and justified and glorified.
"For those God foreknew He also predestined
to be conformed to the likeness of His Son,
that He might be the firstborn among many
brothers. And those He predestined, He also
called; those He called, He also justified;
those He justified, He also glorified."
Romans 8:29-30
*****
From the beginning God called His people to a holy life because
of His own purpose and and through His grace.
"[He] has saved us and called us to a holy life --
not because of anything we have done but be-
cause of His own purpose and grace. This grace
was given in Christ Jesus before the beginning
of time, but it has now been revealed through the
appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has
destroyed death and has brought life and im-
mortality to light through the gospel."
2 Timothy 1:9-10
*****
God chose Jesus from the beginning to redeem His people through
His death on the cross.
"He was chosen before the creation of the world,
but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him
from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith
and hope are in God."
1 Peter 1:20-21
*****
"Every detail of the crucifixion of Christ was under the sovereign
control of God and in accord with His eternal purposes. The fact that Judas'
betrayal was part of God's plan does not free him from the guilt of a crime
he entered into willfully. God's sovereignty is never a legitimate excuse for
human guilt."
John MacArthur
ESV Commentary
(Jesus said),"For the Son of Man will go as it has
been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him."
Luke 22:22
*****
Jesus was handed over for crucifixion to wicked men through God's
set purpose and foreknowledge.
"... this Jesus, delivered up according to the
definite plan and foreknowledge of God,
you crucified and killed by the hands of
lawlessness men."
Acts 2:23
*****
The LORD decreed whatever may come to pass. Nothing takes God
by surprise.
"Who can speak and have it happen
if the Lord has not decreed it? Is
it not from the mouth of the Most
High that both calamities and good
things come?"
Lamentations 3:37
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Trust in the LORD
"Blessed is the man who makes
the LORD his trust, who does
not look to the proud, to those
who turn aside to false gods."
Psalm 40:4
Those who truly trust in God will never be disappointed in Him. Those who
trust in other things will never be satisfied.
**********
"Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes reguge
in Him."
Psalm 34:8
God is always faithful. Any time His people come to Him for help, He will
take care of them.
**********
"O LORD Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you."
Psalm 84:12
God blesses those who have faith in Him.
**********
"Know that the LORD has set apart the
godly for Himself; the LORD will hear
when I call to Him."
Psalm 4:3
The LORD hears His people when they call on Him.
**********
"The LORD detests all the proud of heart.
Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished."
Proverbs 16:5
"God opposes the proud but gives grace
to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore,
under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you
up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him
because He cares for you."
1 Peter 5:5b-7
God hates the proud, but loves those who humble themselves before Him.
**********
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and
He will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6
As Christians, we won't have a trouble free life, but God will be there to guide us
through the difficult times, as we depend on Him and His mercy, and His love for us.
Trust in the LORD!!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
The Trinity and the 1689 LBCF
1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith
Chapter 2: Of God and the Holy Trinity
1. The Lord our God is but one living and true God; whose subsistence is in
and of himself, infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be com-
prehended by any but himself; a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts,
or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can
approach unto; who is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty,
every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute; working all
things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will
for his own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in
goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of
them that diligently seek him, and withal most just and terrible in his judgments,
hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.
(1 Corinthians 8:4,6; Psalm 115:3; Isaiah 46:10; Proverbs 16:4; Romans 11:36;
Hebrews 11:6)
2. God, having all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of himself, is alone
in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature which he
hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting his own glory
in, by, unto, and upon them; he is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through
whom, and to whom are all things, and he hath most sovereign dominion over all
creatures, to do by them, for them, or upon them, whatsoever himself pleaseth; in
his sight all things are open and manifest, his knowledge is infinite, infallible, and
independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to him contingent or uncertain; he
is most holy in all his counsels, in all his works, and in all his commmands; to him
is due from angels and men, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience, as creatures
they owe unto the Creator, and whatever he is further pleased to require of them.
(John 5:26; Psalm 119:68; Psalm 145:17)
3. In this divine and infinite Being there are three subsistences, the Father, the
Word or Son, and Holy Spirit, of one substance, power, and eternity, each having
the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided; the Father is of none, neither
begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit
proceeding from the Father and the Son; all infinite, without beginning, therefore but
one God, who is not to be divided in nature and being. but distinguished by several
peculiar relative properties and personal relations; which doctrine of the Trinity is the
foundation of all our communion with God, and comfortable dependence on him.
(Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 14:11; 1 Corinthians 8:6; John 1:14,18;
John 15:26; Galatians 4:6)
Friday, October 5, 2012
Are We All Children of the Same God?
I am a conservative Christian and Republican, and I will be voting for Mitt
Romney in the presidential election. He represents my political and moral views
much better than our current president.
However, Mr. Romney said something during the debate on Wednesday with
which I totally disagree. He said, "We're a nation that believes that we're all child-
ren of the same God."
All of us? Christians, Mormons, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, etc. all worship the
same god? I seem to recall George Bush made a similar statement once. Is this
biblical?
The answer is no.
In fact, the Bible tells us that God gives only those who receive Jesus Christ as
Savior the right to be called His children.
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed
in his name, he gave the right to become children of
God -- children born not of natural descent, nor of
human decision, or a husband's will, but born
of God."
John 1:12-13
Becoming a member of God's family is totally by grace alone, which is a gift
of God. It is not based on anything a person achieves on his own.
"For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith -- and this not from your-
selves, it is the gift of God -- not by
works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:8-9
Those in the world who are not given this gift of grace through faith are not
God's children. They don't know him.
"How great is the love the Father has lavished
on us (his children through faith), that we
should be called children of God. And that is
what we are! The reason the world does not
know us is that it did not know him."
1 John 3:1
**********
Charles Spurgeon wrote about the Fatherhood of God:
"Believe the doctrine of the Fatherhood of God to his people.
Abhor the doctrine of the universal Fatherhood of God, for
it is a lie and a deep deception.
"It stabs at the heart, first, of the doctrine of adoption, which
is taught in Scripture, for how can God adopt men if they
are his children already?"
(' ... we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan
inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the
redemption of our bodies' Romans 8:23).
Spurgeon continues:
"In the second place, it stabs at the heart of regeneration,
which is certainly taught in the Word of God. Now it is
by regeneration and faith that we have become the child-
ren of God, but how can that be if we are the children of
of God already?"
('According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead ...' 1 Peter 1:3b).
Spurgeon's final comments on the Fatherhood of God:
"How can God give to men the power to become his
sons if they have it already?
Believe not that lie of the devil, but believe this
truth of God, and all who are by living faith in Christ
may rejoice in the Fatherhood of God."
The Bible teaches that there is only one God. The God of Scripture.
"I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like
me."
Isaiah 46:9b
"For who is God besides the LORD?"
Psalm 18:31a
There is only one God, and only those who have been regenerated by
God's Holy Spirit, and received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, are given
the right to be called children of God.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
The Spiritual Man and the Natural Man
The Bible tells us of two different kinds of people -- those who have the
Spirit of God, and those who are children of the devil (natural man).
Those who have the Holy Spirit are no longer condemned, but have been
set free from sin and death.
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ
Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from
the law of sin and death."
Romans 8:1-2
God gives His Spirit to His children as a deposit guaranteeing their salvation
and eternity in heaven with Him.
"Now it is God who makes both us and you
stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His
seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit
in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what
is to come."
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
The Bible makes it clear who are God's children and who are children of the
devil.
"By this it is evident who are the children of God,
and who are the children of the devil: whoever
does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor
is the one who does not love his brother."
1 John 3:10
The natural man is controlled by his sinful nature and is unable to do anything
to please God, while the spiritual man has his mind set on what the Spirit desires.
"Those who live according to the sinful nature
have their minds set on what that nature desires;
but those who live in accordance with the Spirit
have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind
controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the
sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit
to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled
by the sinful nature cannot please God."
Romans 8:5-8
The naural man belongs to the devil and is unable to hear from God.
"Jesus said to them (Jews who wanted to kill Him),
'If God were your Father, you would love me, for
I came from God and now am here. I have not come
on my own; but He sent me.
Why is my language not clear to you? You belong
to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out
your father's desire. ... He who belongs to God hears
what God says. The reason you do not hear is that
you do not belong to God."
John 8:42-44a, 47
The natural man is unable to believe in Jesus (without the Spirit enabling
him), while the spiritual man is able to listen and believe.
(Jesus said to the unbelievers), "The miracles I do in
my Father's name speak for me, but you do not be-
lieve because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen
to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."
John 10:25b-27
Jesus did not say, "you are not my sheep because you don't believe, but
you don't believe because you are not my sheep." Only Jesus' sheep will
believe in Him.
**********
The spiritual man's life is fruitful.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control." ... Those who
belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the
sinful nature with its passions and desires."
Galatians 5:22-23a, 24
God is sovereign in everything, including salvation.
He gives His Holy Spirit to His children, but not to those who are not
His children. Those who have the Spirit become co-heirs with Christ.
" ... those who are led by the Spirit of God are
sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit
that makes you a slave again to fear, but you
received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we
cry, 'Abba, Father.'
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit, that
we are God's children. Now if we are children,
then we are heirs -- heirs of God and co-heirs
with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings
in order that we may also share in His glory."
Romans 8:14-17
If you have received God's gifts of repentance and faith in Jesus as Savior,
thank God for saving you and changing you from the natural man to the
spiritual man.
"The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
He is their stronghold in time of trouble. The LORD
helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from
the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge
in Him."
Psalm 37:39-40
If you have never trusted in Christ, then repent and believe in Him as Lord
and Savior today.
" ... if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,"
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from
the dead, you will be saved."
Romans 10:9
" ... no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord', (confess He is Lord)
except by the Holy Spirit."
1 Corinthians 12:3b
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